While the letter isn't a legal decree, The New York Times reports, it does essentially threaten schools that don't accommodate trans kids—and it's signed by Justice and Education department officials who seem to mean business.

"A school may not require transgender students to use facilities inconsistent with their gender identity or to use individual-user facilities when other students are not required to do so," the letter reads. According to the administration, every school has an obligation to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex—even in bathrooms—regardless of potential objections of other students, parents, and community members.

"As is consistently recognized in civil rights cases, the desire to accommodate others’ discomfort cannot justify a policy that singles out and disadvantages a particular class of students," the letter states.

What do schools have to do? According to the letter's instructions, a parent or legal guardian would need to assert that their child's gender identity differs from the school's previous records; then the school must treat the child according to his or her identity. Included in the letter will be a 25-page document that highlights schools that already accommodate transgender students and their effective practices—such as installing privacy curtains or allowing students to change in bathroom stalls—that other schools can emulate, according to The New York Times.

The letter comes in response to the outcry of educators, parents, and students across the country asking the Obama Administration to clarify school districts' obligations for the fair treatment of transgender students, the newspaper reports.

“No student should ever have to go through the experience of feeling unwelcome at school or on a college campus,” John B. King Jr., the secretary of the Department of Education, said in a statement. “We must ensure that our young people know that whoever they are or wherever they come from, they have the opportunity to get a great education in an environment free from discrimination, harassment and violence.”